PAY scales for senior management at Charnwood Borough Council has been criticised after it was announced that nearly three quarters of a million pounds are being spent on them a year.

It was announced at this weeks full council meeting that s742,000 consisting of seven staff earning between s80,000-s90,000 and one member of staff earning between s130,000-s140,000 a year after Labour leader Coun Max Hunt asked for the current senior management costs to be itemised in bands of s10,000 for each salary above s60,000.

So far s119,000 has been saved through the councils streamlining of senior management costs, although this does not include the costs paid to former chief executive Brian Hayes when he took early retirement last year.

Coun Hunt said: We have got a number of directors employed by the authority with weird and wonderful titles. You could say this council is top heavy, thats why I think the streamlining should be continued.

I think that we are going too high up the salary scale than we need to. We are looking not at our money but Council Tax payers money.

Coun Mike Preston replied: I think I have to agree that over the course of perhaps the last two management re-organisations, the number of managers have increased.

We are working on that and hope to come up with additional savings in the near future.